Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

There’s a secret society of designers that do great work… but for a more niche domain. Their designs are incredible, but they’re made not for production, but instead for entertainment. I’m talking about Concept Design Artists who make unbelievable product and transportation designs for games. The massive mountain motor-truck you’re looking at is the work of Encho Enchev. Designed to absolutely dominate the mountain landscape, this snowmobile looks so incredibly badass, I almost feel sorry for the snow!

Designer: Encho Petrov Enchev

Construction site fires are quite common, but it’s the smoke and not the fire that usually proves deadly to workers. In the event of a fire, this fire mask concept simplifies the very process workers would normally use to prevent smoke inhalation.

Just as they would wet a cloth with water and cover their mouth, this convenient, easy-to-use design attaches to the mouth and instantaneously disperses water to a compressed pulp with just a press of a button. The saturated pulp protects the wearer from harmful gases and smoke, buying valuable time to escape or help extinguish the fire.

Designer: Inyong Bang

This car charger is a lifesaver. No, not because it’ll power your phone when you’re desperately low on battery and you need to use Google Maps… but actually because this bad-boy is your ticket to surviving a car crash. While the Ztylus Stinger serves its purpose as a car charger with two 2.4 ampere USB ports , it also includes a spring-loaded glass breaker and a seat-belt cutter hidden away in its incredible design. The spring-loaded glass breaker is actually concealed within the charging pin itself. Just grab the charger tightly and press it firmly against the glass. The spring triggers the breaking pin and the glass shatters instantly without the need of any force or even repeated striking. The Seat-belt cutter’s blade is placed strategically to ensure you just cut the belt and not yourself. The blade is incredibly sharp and slices through the belt’s fabric like a knife through butter.

It’s incredible how a simple idea can give a product a dual purpose, and quite a useful one that too. The magic is that the charger is ergonomically perfect and always accessible. Wonderful!

Designer: Tim Hsu for Ztylus Innovation

Buy It Here: $19.00 $22.00

Whether you’re a cook with a compact space or a multitasking chef, the B’CHEF makes it easy for you to boil, simmer, saute, fry or sear anywhere with an outlet. This all-in-one cooking solution uses an induction system that reacts with the cookware. Unlike many other induction cookers, the two distinct sections are completely detached, making it possible to flip, shake and toss ingredients as you would with a traditional range!

Designer: Sumin Shin

“According to its own principle, heating section of induction range and upper part of pan should be tightly contacted. Because of it, movement of pan was restricted. The heating section and body of B’chef are separated, one do not have to be restricted. One can freely shake, bounce or whatever one could do on stove freely.

For a higher degree of freedom, body and heating section had to be wirelessly connected. Magnetic induction transmitter uses two coils (one transmitting, and one receiving magnetic field). Through them, electricity can be transmitted to each other, and heating part and pan can be connected through electromagnet. Lighting around the magnetic induction transmitting part shows the power of heat for users to acknowledge easily.”

It’s February already?! Whoa! Time flies, right? Well, luckily we’re still in the lead, with only three weeks to go. If you missed out on your golden opportunity last year to win yourself an A’ Design Award, never you mind, you can still register your designs till the 28th of February.

The A’ Design Awards and Competition aren’t like your run-of-the-mill design awards. Like I’ve said before, the purpose of the award isn’t just to recognize good work, it’s to promote and broadcast it. Winners don’t just get an award (well they get a pretty cool looking trophy for sure), they also get their own PR campaign, a chance to network with the best in the business, and we obviously do a pretty grand feature of the winning designs. The best thing about the A’ Design Awards and Competition is that even registrants are entitled to a great deal of opportunities. All participants get included in the ever expanding World Design Index (which ranks countries based on their participation) and even get covered in the World Design Encyclopedia, so make sure you and your country get represented!

The A’ Design Awards are judged by a stellar jury of 80+ highly respected designers who span all design disciplines and are spread all over the world. These jurors judge designs over a wide variety of categories (some of them being Furniture Design, Lighting Design, Electronic Devices Design, Transportation Design, Medical Devices Design, Home Appliances Design and MANY more). Head down to the website to read more about the design category that fits your project.

Winners of the A’ Design Awards and Competition will be declared on the 15th of April and winning design entries will be featured right here on Yanko Design on that very day itself. So if you’re looking for an easy way to launch your design career, get noticed (and featured on YD!), and become the designer you’ve always dreamed of being, get busy! You’ve got exactly three weeks till the deadline! Scroll down to see the designs that won last year. Maybe this year could be your chance!

Register Here for the A’ Design Awards and Competition 2017 : Deadline 28th February

Shadowbrook 3D Printed Faucet by DXV

The water faucet that won our hearts and dominated Pinterest this year! Absolutely gorgeous, don’t you think?

The Birth by h220430

What happens when you flip a chandelier inside out? You get something as incredible as the Birth chandelier. Always a personal favorite.

Qwikflip 6-IN-1 Activity Center by Grow’n Up R&D Team

Children get tired of their toys really quickly. Designed to be six games/toys in one, the Qwikflip will ensure your kid is always on his toes, occupied, and never bored!

Nest by Paul Ketz

Trap your material belongings in the Nest, because man is an animal that is trapped in his own self-made materialistic prison! Dark? I think it’s quirky!

Lr16 by Adam Miklosi

Controversial, edgy, and downright eye-catching, the Lr16 is an industrially manufactured coffin with a more functional design than traditionally crafted coffins. Rather interesting.

Shelter Pack by Hakan Gürsu

Don’t worry. This isn’t another coffin. The Shelter Pack by A’ Design’s most awarded designer Hakan Gürsu puts an entire refugee shelter into a highly transportable, foldable flat-pack.

Brave Jet Syringe by Ilmo Ahn, Jisu Kim & Juyeon Baek & SeonwooPyo

How do you get kids to be less afraid of injections? Gamify the concept! The Brave Jet is a toy that also can be added to the syringe design to make an otherwise scary procedure much more child-friendly.

Coral Flower Vase by Steve Lee

The Coral Flower Vase inspires the two most important reactions to its design. Wow, and How. While some people marvel this vase’s beauty, the more curious among us can’t stop asking ourselves how this ethereal flower vase was made!

Mitosis by Soroush Vahidian Kamyar

Who knew design could preach aesthetics and molecular biology at the same time?! The Mitosis lamp series are inspired by the way cells divide/replicate within nature. Fun to look at, and fun to learn too!

memobottle™ by Jesse Leeworthy

You’ve probably seen these bottles somewhere. Hell, you may just know someone who owns one of these! That’s the power of good design and good marketing! The bottle is good design. The fact that you’ve seen it somewhere is A’ Design’s great marketing! So don’t wait up! Go register immediately! February 28th will be here before you know it!

It’s probably a good thing that at first glance, I couldn’t tell whether the Volkswagen Roller was an urban mobility device or a disabled mobility device. I think we should start thinking of products that bridge the gap between regular and special needs.

The Volkswagen Roller, in fact, is a new-age roller skate. It’s autonomous, and hands-free. The design comes with two main hubless wheels and two retractable rear wheels. The rear wheels (almost like a plane’s landing gear) remain outside before and after the ride. However, while in-transit, they retract inwards, so that you ride using only the main hubless wheels on each foot. Think of it as a split hover board, but Volkswagen style.

Each roller comes with a hard-plastic shoe that you slide your feet into. Maybe one day disabled people can have bionic feet that look like that and all you need to do is snap a pair of hubless wheels on and you’re set to go! It would be interesting to see a car company like VW entering the futuristic disabled mobility business. If the Volkswagen Rollers are any indicator, they’ll definitely look incredibly stylish!

Designer: Raquel Villani